New Year Resolutions (Part 2)

1. Travel all of Irelands Coastline That’s a journey of 3,172 kilometres (1,970miles)

We want to take the girls travelling or to live in another country for a short time at least but with my brothers wedding in Malta in September (first world problems I know) that ain’t happening this year so we came up with this as, if I do say myself, excellent alternative.

Ideally we’ll hire a camper, they’re expensive but it should work out cheaper than staying in hired accomodation. It would be so much fun too, I know the girls would love it plus we’d love the freedom of it.

Only money could stop us now, bah, only short term if it does. We will find a way.

For now I’ll be researching the best budget options and plotting coastal locations of Lidl.

The Cliffs of Moher

2. Renew my Passion for Food

I lost my food mojo for a while there. My problem? I know too much.

We can’t grow enough of our own food or buy/afford an all organic diet and the state of supermarket food produce is just really overwhelming, ok depressing. It got so bad for a while I even lost my appetite and that just never happens to me.

But then one day over Christmas I ate a tub of the most spectacular soft goats cheese with honey and was cured. I just felt the old love return.

On that note I’m starting fresh with renewed zest for wrangling with Leitrim earth and wet, for growing what we can and beyond that for sourcing the best local and organic food AND for bringing you lots of new recipes for 2015.

All the best and most decadent food and recipes on a budget. Phew. We’ll be proceeding with our permaculture garden too.

3. Shake up or Shut Down the Blog

In the lead up to Christmas I was considering the future of the blog. I don’t like to do something by halves and that’s what’s going on here. It’s a matter or priorities I know but in the scale of priorities how many things can share billing?

The blog kick started my writing, painting and led me to a community of like minded people. Has it served it’s purpose? I know it’s better to have your own site than rely on Facebook but I’ve a very strong presence there, perhaps that’s enough.

The blog takes a LOT of time, other bloggers will understand that and I’m not sure I want to give it that time at the moment BUT I don’t want to go on and NOT give it that time either.

If I continue I need to put a plan in place for running it at the capacity I’m capable of and that it deserves, but to do that will take investment of time, planning, tightening, focus, WORK!

I’m not afraid of work but I have the book to think of, and the family, and currently 10 dedicated hours a week in which to do it all in.

I just don’t want to be sloppy.

It’s not a good look on me. So this one is still undecided but for now at least I’m still here.

My new banner currently leading the way on the blog Facebook page click HERE

4. Tune Out to Tune In

I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about the major challenges facing our world. Very often I feel overwhelmed by the scale of hate, injustice, greed and corruption. In fact just before Christmas a few stories came to light that upset me to the point of despair but then, it was only a little thing, we watched ‘War Horse’ the movie on Christmas Eve and my faith in humanity was restored.

I consider myself well informed on world affairs though I avoid mainstream media like the plague (that’s why I’m well informed perhaps!) I don’t like that they feed us, how they influence and control us according to the agenda of whoever is paying the most.

That agenda in my view is to keep us living in fear and distrust of each other, to hate. Never to question, never to try understand, just to hate.

Last year we barely watched tv at all and it’s just as well as whenever I do catch the news I end up wanting to throw things and scream! I can get whatever I need online, like the food I feel I know too much for my health sometimes.

We’ve decided to pull the plug and tune out in order to tune in. We’re not watching tv at all unless there is something specific on we want to see. This resolution is closely linked to my ‘nature immersion’ one from part 1 HERE.

To sum up this resolution I want to feel connected not dis-connected from the world. So from now on I’m not listening.

I’ll learn more here…

Townland of Potore, Aughasheelin, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim

Talking to this fella…if he’ll talk to me.

Oh hello…

No? That’s ok, you know where the answers lie too…

Photography

As I was thinking about the blog over Christmas I realised that one of the things I’d miss the most if I stopped is the photography.

I never expected to love it so much.

Thanks to the blog again. Everyone should have a blog at some time… for a year at least.

I love planning, thinking about, staging, styling, vignetting, selecting and laying out photographs for posts so this resolution is to stretch myself and explore photography more.

I should start using a camera maybe instead of just the phone. We have one…I don’t have a clue what it is. This is my total lack of interest in the tech side of things.

I can stretch myself in other ways too. I discovered Conceptual Photography this year and that’s something I want to explore further. It’s when you plan and stage a photo to illustrate an idea. Reylia Slaby is a great example, I love her work, click HERE

Finally

It was going to be meditation but I read up on it and discovered I’ve been meditating my whole life without knowing. For example, I’ve never walked down a path and not noticed every stone and blade of grass, thought about it, savoured the moment. Turns out my life has been one long mediation.

At times I may have been too future focused but not any more. I’m all about the present now – well aside from that I’ll be glad to see an end to these blooming dark evenings, but aside from that!

So I think overall I’ll just keep stretching myself with painting and writing (meditative in their own right) and explore other avenues in these such as mixed media collage, really want to try that, more large scale painting, short stories, flash fiction, poetry, competitions etc, etc etc

Just think, this time last year I wasn’t driving or painting and I hadn’t written a book yet, so 2015 woohoo! Bring it on!

You can’t believe I’m finished can you? But I am, honestly! Chat to you soon, take care 🙂

2 thoughts on “New Year Resolutions (Part 2)”

It sounds like you have wonderful plans for the year. I want to try living somewhere else for a while with my girls too. My parents have a teeny tiny place in Sicily and it’s calling out to me this year… it’s just the flights costs that are to somehow be surmounted!

Please don’t give up blogging though – I love coming here for inspiration and more of a sense of ‘you’ than I get from the FB page.

I aim to actually get to Leitrim this year too for a while and hopefully meet you at some stage!

Thanks for that Sadhbh, I really appreciate it. The fb page is very much me too but I’m touched you would choose the long winded version 🙂 You are so lucky to have a place in Sicily! You will HAVE to go! And a place in Leitrim too! That’s some combination. Be lovely to meet when you come so do keep me posted

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Jane Gilheaney Barry is an Author, Creativity Coach, and Curator of That Curious Love of Green. A one stop inspiration space for creative living. Welcome.
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